The Security Council will discuss Nepal this afternoon, with the head of the United Nations Mission there briefing. In his report to the Council, the Secretary-General highlights that no substantive progress has been made in the peace process since his January report and, should the Government request an extension of the Mission’s mandate, which expires 15 May, he recommends that the Council respond positively.
In progress at UNHQ
Noon Briefings
The Secretary-General spoke this morning to Mayors for Peace, which brings together some 4,000 mayors and city officials around the world, including the Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Secretary-General said that the United Nations should be the new “ground zero” for nuclear disarmament, adding that he will carry that message with him when he visits Hiroshima in August.
The Secretary-General opened the Review Conference for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty this morning, saying that the world’s people expect action to protect them from the destructive power of nuclear weapons and to build a safer, more secure world.
The Secretary-General has appointed Atul Khare of India as Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations. Mr. Khare replaces Edmond Mulet of Guatemala, who was appointed on 1 April as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Haiti for one year. Mr. Khare most recently served as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Timor-Leste.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is teaming up with the non-profit group One Laptop per Child to distribute computers to nearly half a million Palestine refugee children at UNRWA-run schools by 2012. Today, officials, as well as teachers and children, are celebrating the deployment of the first 2,100 laptops at the Rafah Co-Education Elementary School D.
The Secretary-General has appointed Tayé-Brook Zerihoun of Ethiopia as Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs. He replaces Haile Menkerios of South Africa, who has been appointed, for a one-year period, as the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Sudan.
Tomorrow at 10 a.m., the Secretary-General will hold a press conference to present the report of his Advisory Group on Energy and Climate Change. It calls for a transition to a new energy pathway that will provide universal access to modern energy sources while addressing the challenges of climate change, sustainable development and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
The Secretary-General has received the final report of the Board of Inquiry into the 28 October 2009 terrorist attack on the Bakhtar guest house in Kabul. It highlights a number of shortcomings in the United Nations security measures as well as with respect to coordination between the United Nations and both its international partners and the host Government authorities.
The Secretary-General, in a report on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1559 (2004), says that the formal parliamentary endorsement of the Government of National Unity in Lebanon last December, six months after the parliamentary elections, is an important achievement. However, he adds, the presence of Lebanese and non-Lebanese militias continues to pose a threat to the stability of the country and the region.
The Board of Inquiry report on the 28 October 2009 attack on the United Nations guest house in Kabul has been finalized. The relevant findings of the report are being presented to the Afghan authorities, both in New York and in Afghanistan, and other relevant stakeholders will likewise be informed.